Mikhail Gorbachev Last Soviet Union Leader is Dead

-O. Adejo

Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s final leader, died at the age of 91. According to Russian news outlets, the hospital confirmed his death, stating that he had been suffering from a long and serious illness.

At the height of the cold war, Gorbachev seized power in the now-defunct Soviet Union in 1985 and remained in power until 1991.

He is remembered fondly for his efforts to reduce tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. This earned him Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for negotiating a nuclear arms treaty with US President Ronald Reagan. His actions during this time were also critical in maintaining world peace and bringing the cold war to an end.

Gorbachev gained respect in the West as a result of his policies, which improved Soviet-American relations at the time. However, the Soviet Union fell apart during his presidency, and many Russians blamed him and his reformist policies for the Soviet Union’s demise.

Gorbachev has spent the last 20 years as an elder statesman, mediating between Russia and the United States in order to defuse tensions and move toward peace, particularly in relation to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis.

However, he has been in and out of the hospital as his fragile health has deteriorated over the years, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world.